Bill Cassidy defends his vote to convict Trump after primary loss

Sen. Bill Cassidy defended his 2021 vote to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges, saying he would rather be remembered for standing up for his principles even if it ended his career in the Senate.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Monday defended his vote to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges five years ago, saying he would rather be remembered for standing up for his principles even if it ended his career in the Senate.

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“That may have cost me my seat, but who cares? I had the privilege of voting to uphold the Constitution. Isn’t that a great thing?” Cassidy said to reporters on Capitol Hill two days after he lost his re-election bid in a GOP primary. “When I die, if that’s put in my obituary, ‘he voted to uphold the Constitution’ — I’ll figure that that’s going to be a better obituary.”

Despite having a voting record in the Senate that was closely aligned with Trump’s agenda, Cassidy lost his primary Saturday in large part because of his support for convicting Trump on charges of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.